Night-time
by ChEmMiE
Summary: A moment between Tony and his daughter in the middle of the night (Implied TIVA)


Hi guys!  
So yeah, I missed NCIS and fanfics and writing, and so today this happened. I hope you like it! It's nothing special, just my attempt to see if I can even still write _anything_. But I'd still but very happy i you let me know what you think :)  
There isn't a lot of background story in it, but more about than in the bottom.

ENJOY!

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"Daddy?"

The soft voice sounded as if it came from very far away as it just barely managed to pull Tony back into consciousness. Small, gentle fingers carefully wrapping around the palm of his hand was enough to pull him the rest of the way out of his slumber, and as he became more aware, he realized he was on the couch, head tilted back in an angle that was sure to give him a horribly stiff neck the following day.

"Daddy." Blinking his eyes open, he easily focused on the girl standing in front of him, even in the near-dark room. The oversized NCIS t-shirt she often wore to bed hung off her shoulder, and the small hand not holding on to his own was gripping the leg of her stuffed raccoon tightly. "Why are you on the couch?"

Her unruly curls were loose around her shoulders, wild from sleep, and her head was tilted slightly to the side as she looked at him quizzically, trying to whisper her question now that she was sure he was awake.

Tony rolled his neck, trying to get out the kinks, and easily noticed that the only light in the room came from the almost muted TV.

"I must've fallen asleep while watching TV." With a quick look around the room, she seemed to be satisfied with his answer.

"You were watching football?" The innocent yet knowing look she gave him was all Ziva. Humming in acknowledgement he patted the couch next to him, and she let go of his hand as she effortlessly climbed up next to him. "Then I would've fallen asleep too." He rolled his eyes in mock defeat, but as he settled back on his little girl, a smile easily took over. She was sitting on her knees on the couch, dwarfed in the huge t-shirt and her racoon subconsciously pressed against her chest as she just looked at him with those big, dark eyes.

"C'mere." Turning towards her, he held out his arm as he motioned for her to come closer. He was patient as she spent a few seconds simply looking at him, but then she started closing the short distance between them with slow, careful movements until she was cuddled against his side. Wrapping his arm tightly around her, Tony pressed a kiss to the top of her dark head.

"Couldn't sleep?" She shook her head against him, and Tony hummed as he started playing with a stand of her long hair. "Bad dream?" When he got another headshake, a grin spread across his face as he used two fingers of his free hand to walk down her bare leg.

"Did the mice under your bed start chewing on your toes cause you forgot to feed them?" Her chuckles shook against him as he grabbed her toes one at a time, imitating said mice.

"No, daddy." She let out a small laugh and he could hear the smile in her voice. When he started tickling her feet instead she pulled out of his arm, squirming across his lap as she tried to pull her feet away from him. "You silly!"

"Oh, I'm silly, huh?" He let her go, but barely gave her time to get away before he attacked her sides, going after the spots he knew were extra ticklish. "I'll give you _silly_!"

"Daddy!" The word was barely distinguishable as she let out a high-pitched squeal, dropping the stuffed animal onto the floor as she rolled onto her back, squirming to try to avoid her father's attacking hands.

"You awoke the silly monster." Placing his hands on each side of her, he buried his face in her small stomach, letting out dramatic growl as happy laughter erupted from his daughter. He was just about to pull back when he felt her small hands in his hair, and her laughter slowly died out.

" _My_ silly monster." He pushed himself up so that he could see the happy smile on her relaxed face, hints of a chuckle still present.

"That's right. All yours." He placed a quick kiss on her smooth forehead. "Love you baby girl." She looked at him for a heartbeat before she threw her arms around his neck, and Tony instinctively picked her up, bringing the racoon with him from the floor on the way.

"Love you too, daddy." Her head was snuggled into the crook of his neck, making the words nothing more than a soft mumble. It was more than enough to make the smile on his face grow, though, knowing the girl in his arms rarely voiced affection like that.

"Let's get you back to bed, huh, munchkin?" She nodded against him, tightening her grip around his neck as he turned off the tv before navigating through the dark living room and down the hallway. The nightlight next to the door was still on, so Tony didn't bother turning on the light as he entered her room, carefully depositing the tired child on her bed and handing over the much-loved stuffed animal.

"Want me to tell you a story?" He squatted down so they were at eye level with one another. Brushing a strand of hair behind he ear, he held her gaze as she seemed to think it over. "Or perhaps you'd like me to just lay here with you for a little while?" She gave him a tired smile at that, scooting back as she nodded her head.

"I'm glad. Cause your bed is _much_ better than mine." She chuckled softly at that, and Tony got into her bed, easily bringing the soft duvet up to cover the both of them. "Comfy?" Happy that she'd made enough space for her father, she let out a content sigh as she turned onto her stomach, head turned towards him and raccoon snuggled close to her body.

"Night, princess. Sleep good." Leaving a last kiss on her hair, Tony stayed facing her, letting his hand rest on her back. As he traced soft patters through the t-shirt, it didn't take many minutes before her eyes drifted shut and her breathing evened out. But still, Tony stayed where he was, his hand not seizing its comforting movement.

He could easily stay there all night, looking at his daughter sleep.

She was special. She was _his_ ; his and Ziva's. And she was perfect.

* * *

This idea actually came from a LONG ff idea I've had for years, and started ages ago, but never really got around to write much of as the original idea required like 100 chapters of background story. This would've been somewhere between the start and the point I actually wanted to get to, but I figured if I tried writing _something_ , then maybe I'd somehow get back into writing again and actually try to write out the entire plot idea ;)  
There aren't a lot of descriptions in it, but that's mostly because I wrote it just as a possible scene for that fic, and then it wouldn't be needed.

Also, I purposely left out a name. That way people can decide for themselves if it's canon (and thus Tali), or if Ziva is simply sleeping in the bedroom and there are 3 other kids down the hall.


End file.
